THE NE.W YORKER in which the plot is of minor impor- tance. The ne\v presentatIon also suffers from the fact that the propor- tions of the opera are too small for a vast auditorium like the :\1etropolitan. The designer Rolf Gerard has at least made a suitable stage picture by fram- ing the action within three delicate white arches, which are arrayed one behind the other and are a good deal smaller than the Met's proscenIum, and by using a modest-sized platform, two steps up froin the level of the stage, for the mdin playing area. .l-1.galnst the blue background of the Bay of Naples and a fair ky, the characters move, in strikingly lovely eighteenth- century costumes, through aIr} sugges- tions of rooms lnd l gclrden. The scenes are eÀquisite, and it's ahnost a pity that they have to be set in motion. Lunt, a distinguished gallant of the speaking stage (he was recently quoted as saying that he had been unfamiliar wIth "CosÌ Fan Tutte" until he was asked to direct it), ha'ì responded en- thusiastically to the most obvious fea- ture of the opera-its exaggerated sense of order-by creating a sty hzed per- formance, in which the cast follows patterns as severe and regular as those Imposed on the box hedges in one of the garden scenes. Formal groupings, precious attitudes, and mincIng gestures characterize the stage deportlnent Lunt has taken pains to underline not onl) the precision of the action but also the pre- cision of the music. In the first scene, he has the tenor lo\ver hitnself into a chaIr in three or four separate Inovements, each bringing hinl closer to the seat and each punctuating a musical chord. This thoroughgoing stylization mayor may not be the Ino t helpful Llpproach to "CosÌ Fan Tutte," but it has, unfortu- nately, gone awry here. SIngers, by and large, are not actors, and these singers lack, in varying degrees, the actor's grace that makes such physical behavior smooth and pleasing. The result is that many of the gestures, uncertainly per- formed, are ambiguous and annoying. If this were d spoken play, ånd Lunt and some other capable actors were ap- pearing in it (he does come on, in cos- tume, after the overture, to go very elegantly through the Inake-believe motions of lighting the footlIghts with a long taper), the staging might be captivating, but as it is, it strikes me as mechanical and overelaborate. Elementary though the story is, it is absurdly difficult to retain. Like a word, the longer you look at it, the less mean- ing it has. Two young soldiers, In love with two sisters, quarrel with a meddle- 71 illiams and Bumbert , ,", Imported from Spain ..::< .. :...., ...none finer \ . . I "W" . "t :.) . Ifu ,.. , ! t '::'. :%t .". ....: : < :. ,< .: ==.. Ask for Dry Sack -not iust dry sherry. '- : ./ ,.r ^ y y .,);"' 11 """; , \... ,', .. .:.. IDRY sAð , ,t$HERRY1 , <f /Ñ'. S 2 o>Jf "k. <'"7 !J ./' <I t{. F.- d""'^ Ittl '" S 1iUMBfRf H:t .,, "f . ; .;:< , .. <Cï:... ..'::: ." . i .:,/' n '" -,. '....'00 '<<'.' .<O-x....-.. );..".< :.;:..... ..' 0(0 A perfect gift in its distinctive cloth sack. 1c :-.....;. -..x<,y ,,, y. .r. H. .,...:x*:.,. t . ......'-.... :< .y .-.--1 "\ <.:j ... .. ..' . " '* \<"c:,:::< j";'''. .. Sole U.S. Agents · Julius Wile Sons & Co., Inc. · New York Mellow, nutty flavor- neither too dry nor sweet. , The ideal light drink before lunch or dinner Let this seal be your guide to fine quality ..: liðiib:s /;l!i4mSfip:!/!'!El ÉI e. .... 42nd Annual National GRAND CENTRAL PALACE New York City .. tfù(f{::';. JAN. 11-19 II A. M. to II P. M. ( d ) '-' :z..:- Admission $1.25 (tax included) Children 7S Ç , , , I 1 , . ....,., - The COPACABANA presents A SPLIT YOUR SIDESHOW S I J (KIE ILES I G EE Three Shows Nightly - at 8, 12 & 2 C C 10 E. 60 · PL 8-0900 DINNER $2.75